Does God Exist? William Lane Craig vs Christopher Hitchens

Does God Exist? William Lane Craig vs Christopher Hitchens (Record Date - 2009) WC makes two contentions: – there are no good arguments for atheism – there are good arguments for theism 1. cosmological argument – an actually infinite number of past events is impossible – number of past events must be finite – therefore universe has a beginning – the beginning of the universe is confirmed by science – universe began to exist from nothing 2. teleological argument – fine-tuned constants and ratios – constants not determined by laws of nature – also, there are arbitrary quantities – constants and quantities are in narrow range of life-permitting values – an example: if the weak force were different by 1 in 10 to the 100, then no life – there are 3 explanations: physical law or chance or design 3. moral argument – objective moral values are values that exist regardless of what humans think – objective values are not personal preferences – objective values are not evolved standards that cultures have depending on time and place 4. argument from resurrection miracle – resurrection implies miracle – miracle implies God – 3 minimal facts pass the historical tests (early attestation, eyewitness testimony, multiple attestation, etc.) – minimal fact 1: empty tomb – minimal fact 2: appearances – minimal fact 3: early belief in the resurrection – jewish theology prohibits a dying messiah – messiah is not supposed to die – jewish theology has a general resurrection of everybody, there is not supposed to be a resurrection of one person 5. properly basic belief in god – religious experience is properly basic – it’s just like the belief in the external world, grounded in experience – in the absence of defeaters, those experiences are valid Conclusion: What CH must do: – destroy all 5 of WC’s arguments – erect his own case in its place CH opening speech: 1. evolution disproves biological design argument – evolution disproves paley’s argument for a watchmaker 2. god wouldn’t have done it that way – god wouldn’t have waited that long before the incarnation – mass extinction and death before Jesus – god wouldn’t have allowed humans to have almost gone extinct a while back in africa – why insist that this wasteful and incompetent history of life is for us, that’s a bad design – the universe is so vast, why would god need so much space, that’s a bad design – there is too much destruction in the universe, like exploding stars – that’s a bad design – the heat death of the universe is a bad design – too many of the other planets don’t support life, that’s a bad design – the sun is going to become a red giant and incinerate us, that’s a bad design 3. hitchens’ burden of proof – there is no good reason that supports the existence of god – all arguments for god can be explained without god – atheists can’t prove there is no god – but they can prove there is no good argument for god 4. craig’s scientific arguments don’t go far enough, they only prove deism, not